134-586: Alfred Dreyfus ( French: [alfʁɛd dʁɛfys] , German: [ˈalfʁeːt ˈdʁaɪfuːs] ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Alsatian origin and Jewish ethnicity and faith. In 1894, he fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that sparked a major political crisis during the Third Republic , known as the Dreyfus Affair (1894–1906), when he was wrongfully accused and convicted, due to antisemitism , of being
268-675: A castrum (fortified camp) was built on the site of the Celtic oppidum . In AD 83, the area was incorporated into the Roman province of Germania Superior . The Roman Senator Munatius Plancus is known as the traditional founder of Basel since the Renaissance. Roman control over the area deteriorated in the 3rd century, and Basel became an outpost of the Provincia Maxima Sequanorum formed by Diocletian . Basilia
402-464: A spy for the German Empire . Upon his arrest, he was sentenced to degradation and deported to the penal colony on Devil's Island to be imprisoned until his death. However, evidence emerged showing that Dreyfus was innocent and that the true culprit was a Catholic officer named Esterhazy . Gradual revelations indicated that the internal investigation conducted by the army was biased; Dreyfus
536-500: A core, with the first drilled bore ordnance recorded in operation near Seville in 1247. They fired lead, iron, or stone balls, sometimes large arrows and on occasions simply handfuls of whatever scrap came to hand. During the Hundred Years' War , these weapons became more common, initially as the bombard and later the cannon . Cannons were always muzzle-loaders . While there were many early attempts at breech-loading designs,
670-408: A field carriage, immobility once emplaced, highly individual design, and noted unreliability (in 1460 James II , King of Scots, was killed when one exploded at the siege of Roxburgh). Their large size precluded the barrels being cast and they were constructed out of metal staves or rods bound together with hoops like a barrel, giving their name to the gun barrel . The use of the word "cannon" marks
804-536: A handful of wealthy families collectively referred to as the "Daig" played a pivotal role in city affairs as they gradually established themselves as a de facto city aristocracy . The first edition of Christianae religionis institutio ( Institutes of the Christian Religion – John Calvin 's great exposition of Calvinist doctrine) was published at Basel in March 1536. In 1544, Johann von Brugge,
938-521: A hollow iron ball filled with pitch and fuse, designed to be fired at close range and burst on contact. The most popular in Portuguese arsenals was the berço , a 5 cm, one pounder bronze breech-loading cannon that weighted 150 kg with an effective range of 600 meters. A tactical innovation the Portuguese introduced in fort defense was the use of combinations of projectiles against massed assaults. Although canister shot had been developed in
1072-684: A house on Rue du Sauvage, then later in a mansion on Rue de la Sinne, both in Mulhouse. Because of his mother's bedridden illness following his birth, his sister Henriette became like a second mother to him. Alfred was 10 years old when the Franco-Prussian War broke out in the summer of 1870, and following the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by Germany after the war, he and his family moved to Basel , Switzerland , where he attended high school. The family later relocated to Paris . The childhood experience of seeing his family uprooted by
1206-478: A lack of engineering knowledge rendered these even more dangerous to use than muzzle-loaders. In 1415, the Portuguese invaded the Mediterranean port town of Ceuta . While it is difficult to confirm the use of firearms in the siege of the city, it is known the Portuguese defended it thereafter with firearms, namely bombardas , colebratas , and falconetes . In 1419, Sultan Abu Sa'id led an army to reconquer
1340-475: A mid-19th-century 12-pounder gun , which fired a 4.1 kg (9.0 lb) round, with a kinetic energy of 240 kilojoules, or a 20th-century US battleship that fired a 1,225 kg (2,701 lb) projectile from its main battery with an energy level surpassing 350 megajoules . From the Middle Ages through most of the modern era , artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages . In
1474-730: A minor French military secret, and had obviously been written by a spy in the French military. In 1894, this made the French Army's counter-intelligence section, led by Lieutenant Colonel Jean Sandherr , aware that information regarding new artillery parts was being passed to Maximilian von Schwartzkoppen , the German military attache in Paris, by a highly placed spy most likely on the General Staff. Suspicion quickly fell upon Dreyfus, who
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#17327661681871608-559: A museum dedicated to the Dreyfus affair in Médan in the northwestern suburbs of Paris. He said that nothing could repair the humiliations and injustices Dreyfus had suffered, and "let us not aggravate it by forgetting, deepening, or repeating them". The reference to not repeating them follows attempts by the French far right to question Dreyfus' innocence. An army colonel was cashiered in 1994 for publishing an article suggesting that Dreyfus
1742-520: A name Basilia attested in northern France as a development of basilica , the term for a public or church building (as in Bazeilles ), but all of these names reference early church buildings of the 4th or 5th century and cannot be adduced for the 3rd-century attestation of Basilia . By popular etymology, or simple assonance, the basilisk becomes closely associated with the city, used as heraldic supporter from 1448, represented on coins minted by
1876-479: A pardon by President Émile Loubet in 1899 and released from prison; this was a compromise that saved face for the military's mistake. Had Dreyfus refused the pardon, he would have been returned to Devil's Island, a fate he could no longer emotionally cope with; so officially Dreyfus remained a traitor to France, and pointedly remarked upon his release: The government of the Republic has given me back my freedom. It
2010-497: A prelude to a decisive infantry and cavalry assault. Physically, cannons continued to become smaller and lighter. During the Seven Years War, King Frederick II of Prussia used these advances to deploy horse artillery that could move throughout the battlefield. Frederick also introduced the reversible iron ramrod, which was much more resistant to breakage than older wooden designs. The reversibility aspect also helped increase
2144-468: A relic, possibly attributed to Saint Germanus of Granfelden . This staff (known as Baselstab ) became a symbol representing the Basel diocese, depicted in bishops' seals of the late medieval period. It is represented in a heraldic context in the early 14th century, not yet as a heraldic charge but as a kind of heraldic achievement flanked by the heraldic shields of the bishop. The staff is also represented in
2278-518: A rich Dutch Protestant refugee, was given citizenship and lived respectably until his death in 1556, then buried with honors. His body was exhumed and burnt at the stake in 1559 after it was discovered that he was the Anabaptist David Joris . In 1543, De humani corporis fabrica , the first book on human anatomy, was published and printed in Basel by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564). There are indications Joachim Meyer , author of
2412-565: A sixth of all rounds used by the Portuguese in Morocco were of the fused-shell variety. The new Ming Dynasty established the "Divine Engine Battalion" (神机营), which specialized in various types of artillery. Light cannons and cannons with multiple volleys were developed. In a campaign to suppress a local minority rebellion near today's Burmese border, "the Ming army used a 3-line method of arquebuses/muskets to destroy an elephant formation". When
2546-565: A strong integrating effect on emerging nation-states, as kings were able to use their newfound artillery superiority to force any local dukes or lords to submit to their will, setting the stage for the absolutist kingdoms to come. Modern rocket artillery can trace its heritage back to the Mysorean rockets of Mysore . Their first recorded use was in 1780 during the battles of the Second , Third and Fourth Mysore Wars . The wars fought between
2680-526: Is May during which time Basel receives an average of 98 mm (3.9 in) of rain. The month with the most days of precipitation is also May, with an average of 11.7 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of 45 mm (1.8 in) of precipitation over 8.4 days. The city of Basel functions as the capital of the Swiss half-canton of Basel-Stadt . The canton Basel-Stadt consists of three municipalities: Riehen , Bettingen , and
2814-594: Is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the River Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine ). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva ), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits. The official language of Basel is Swiss Standard German and the main spoken language is the local Basel German dialect. Basel is commonly considered to be
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#17327661681872948-421: Is a widely used generic term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions . By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines. In some armies, the artillery arm has operated field , coastal , anti-aircraft , and anti-tank artillery; in others these have been separate arms, and with some nations coastal has been a naval or marine responsibility. In
3082-747: Is first named by the Ammianus Marcellinus in his Res Gestae as part of the Roman military fortifications along the Rhine in the late 4th century. The Germanic confederation of the Alemanni attempted to cross the Rhine several times in the 4th century, but were repelled; one such event was the Battle of Solicinium (368). However, in the great invasion of AD 406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed
3216-446: Is forested. Of the rest of the land, 20.67 km (7.98 sq mi) or 86.4% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.45 km (0.56 sq mi) or 6.1% is either rivers or lakes. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 10.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 40.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 24.0%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.7% of
3350-738: Is located in Northwestern Switzerland and is commonly considered to be the capital of that region. It is close to the point where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, and Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. As of 2016 , the Swiss Basel agglomeration was the third-largest in Switzerland, with a population of 541,000 in 74 municipalities in Switzerland (municipal count as of 2018). The metropolitan area , called
3484-407: Is nothing for me without my honour. For two years, until July 1906, he lived in a state of house arrest with one of his sisters at Carpentras , and later at Cologny . On 12 July 1906, Dreyfus was officially exonerated by a military commission. The day after his exoneration, he was readmitted into the army with a promotion to the rank of major ( Chef d'Escadron ). A week later, he was made Knight of
3618-484: The Basel massacre . The Basel earthquake of 1356 destroyed much of the city along with a number of castles in the vicinity. A riot on 26 February 1376, known as Böse Fasnacht , led to the killing of a number of men of Leopold III, Duke of Austria . This was seen as a serious breach of the peace , and the city council blamed "foreign ruffians" for this and executed twelve alleged perpetrators. Leopold nevertheless had
3752-731: The British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore in India made use of the rockets as a weapon. In the Battle of Pollilur , the Siege of Seringapatam (1792) and in Battle of Seringapatam in 1799, these rockets were used with considerable effect against the British. After the wars, several Mysore rockets were sent to England, but experiments with heavier payloads were unsuccessful. In 1804 William Congreve, considering
3886-736: The Chemin des Dames . He was promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honour in November 1918. Dreyfus' son Pierre also served throughout the entire war as an artillery officer, receiving the Croix de guerre . Dreyfus died in Paris aged 75, on 12 July 1935. Two days later, his funeral cortège passed the Place de la Concorde through the ranks of troops assembled for the Bastille Day national holiday. He
4020-737: The French Revolutionary Wars . In more recent times, the World Zionist Organization held its first congress in Basel from 29 August through 31 August 1897. Because of the Balkan Wars , the (Socialist) Second International held an extraordinary congress at Basel in 1912. In 1989, the Basel Convention was opened for signature with the aim of preventing the export of hazardous waste from wealthy to developing nations for disposal. Basel
4154-481: The Legion of Honour , and subsequently assigned to command an artillery unit at Vincennes . On 15 October 1906, he was placed in command of another artillery unit at Saint-Denis . While attending a ceremony relocating Zola's ashes to the Panthéon on 4 June 1908, Dreyfus was wounded in the arm by a gunshot from a right-wing journalist, Louis Grégori [ fr ] , who was trying to assassinate him. Grégori
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4288-583: The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme (Museum of Jewish Art and History), including personal letters, photographs of the trial, legal documents, writings by Dreyfus during his time in prison, personal family photographs, and his officer stripes that had been ripped off as a symbol of treason. The museum created an online platform in 2006 dedicated to the Dreyfus Affair. Artillery Artillery are ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond
4422-721: The Napoleonic Wars , the industrialist William Armstrong was awarded a contract by the government to design a new piece of artillery. Production started in 1855 at the Elswick Ordnance Company and the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich , and the outcome was the revolutionary Armstrong Gun , which marked the birth of modern artillery. Three of its features particularly stand out. Basel Basel ( / ˈ b ɑː z əl / BAH -zəl ; German: [ˈbaːzl̩] ), also known as Basle ,
4556-478: The Trinational Eurodistrict of Basel (TEB), consists of 62 suburban communes including municipalities in neighboring countries, and counted 829,000 inhabitants in 2007. Basel has an area, as of 2009 , of 23.91 square kilometers (9.23 sq mi). Of this area, 0.95 km (0.37 sq mi) or 4.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.88 km (0.34 sq mi) or 3.7%
4690-536: The Zoo Basel , opened its doors in the south of the city towards Binningen . In 1897 the first World Zionist Congress was held in Basel. Altogether the World Zionist Congress was held in Basel ten times, more than in any other city in the world. On 16 November 1938, the psychedelic drug LSD was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann at Sandoz Laboratories in Basel. In 1967,
4824-407: The catapult , onager , trebuchet , and ballista , are also referred to by military historians as artillery. During medieval times, more types of artillery were developed, most notably the counterweight trebuchet. Traction trebuchets, using manpower to launch projectiles, have been used in ancient China since the 4th century as anti-personnel weapons. The much more powerful counterweight trebuchet
4958-536: The contemporary era , artillery pieces and their crew relied on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation. These land versions of artillery were dwarfed by railway guns ; the largest of these large-calibre guns ever conceived – Project Babylon of the Supergun affair – was theoretically capable of putting a satellite into orbit . Artillery used by naval forces has also changed significantly, with missiles generally replacing guns in surface warfare . Over
5092-616: The siege of Constantinople in 1453 weighed 19 tons , took 200 men and sixty oxen to emplace, and could fire just seven times a day. The Fall of Constantinople was perhaps "the first event of supreme importance whose result was determined by the use of artillery" when the huge bronze cannons of Mehmed II breached the city's walls, ending the Byzantine Empire , according to Sir Charles Oman . Bombards developed in Europe were massive smoothbore weapons distinguished by their lack of
5226-411: The 11th to 12th century, Basel gradually acquired the characteristics of a medieval city . The main market place is first mentioned in 1091. The first city walls were constructed around 1100 (with improvements made in the mid-13th and in the late 14th century). A city council of nobles and burghers is recorded for 1185, and the first mayor , Heinrich Steinlin of Murbach, for 1253. The first bridge across
5360-442: The 15th century. The development of specialized pieces—shipboard artillery, howitzers and mortars —was also begun in this period. More esoteric designs, like the multi-barrel ribauldequin (known as "organ guns"), were also produced. The 1650 book by Kazimierz Siemienowicz Artis Magnae Artilleriae pars prima was one of the most important contemporary publications on the subject of artillery. For over two centuries this work
5494-551: The 16th century unequalled by contemporary European neighbours, in part due to the experience gained in intense fighting in Morocco, which served as a proving ground for artillery and its practical application, and made Portugal a forerunner in gunnery for decades. During the reign of King Manuel (1495–1521) at least 2017 cannon were sent to Morocco for garrison defense, with more than 3000 cannon estimated to have been required during that 26-year period. An especially noticeable division between siege guns and anti-personnel guns enhanced
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5628-440: The 16th century, cannon were largely (though not entirely) displaced from the battlefield—the cannon were too slow and cumbersome to be used and too easily lost to a rapid enemy advance. The combining of shot and powder into a single unit, a cartridge, occurred in the 1620s with a simple fabric bag, and was quickly adopted by all nations. It speeded loading and made it safer, but unexpelled bag fragments were an additional fouling in
5762-548: The 20th century also Hermann Hesse and Karl Jaspers . Basel was the seat of a Prince-Bishopric starting in the 11th century, and joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501. The city has been a commercial hub and an important cultural centre since the Renaissance , and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the 20th century. In 1897, Basel was chosen by Theodor Herzl as
5896-431: The 20th century, target acquisition devices (such as radar) and techniques (such as sound ranging and flash spotting ) emerged, primarily for artillery. These are usually utilized by one or more of the artillery arms. The widespread adoption of indirect fire in the early 20th century introduced the need for specialist data for field artillery, notably survey and meteorological, and in some armies, provision of these are
6030-815: The Bishop of Basel was added to the Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes of the Imperial Diet . In 1500 the construction of the Basel Münster was finished. The city had remained neutral through the Swabian War of 1499 despite being plundered by soldiers on both sides. The Treaty of Basel ended the war and granted the Swiss confederates exemptions from the emperor Maximillian's taxes and jurisdictions, separating Switzerland de facto from
6164-541: The Detachment Commander, and the highest number being the Coverer, the second-in-command. "Gunner" is also the lowest rank, and junior non-commissioned officers are "Bombardiers" in some artillery arms. Batteries are roughly equivalent to a company in the infantry, and are combined into larger military organizations for administrative and operational purposes, either battalions or regiments, depending on
6298-576: The English-held towns of Jargeau, Meung, and Beaugency, all with the support of large artillery units. When she led the assault on Paris, Joan faced stiff artillery fire, especially from the suburb of St. Denis, which ultimately led to her defeat in this battle. In April 1430, she went to battle against the Burgundians, whose support was purchased by the English. At this time, the Burgundians had
6432-404: The French military of antisemitism and calling for a retrial for Dreyfus. In France there was a passionate campaign by Dreyfus' supporters, including leading artists and intellectuals such as Émile Zola , following which he was given a second trial in 1899, but again declared guilty of treason despite the evidence of his innocence. However, due to public opinion, Dreyfus was offered and accepted
6566-648: The Holy Roman Empire. On 9 June 1501, Basel joined the Swiss Confederation as its eleventh canton . It was the only canton that was asked to join, not the other way round. Basel had a strategic location, good relations with Strasbourg and Mulhouse , and control of the corn imports from Alsace, whereas the Swiss lands were becoming overpopulated and had few resources. A provision of the Charter accepting Basel required that in conflicts among
6700-684: The Javanese were considered excellent in casting artillery, and in the knowledge of using it. In 1513, the Javanese fleet led by Pati Unus sailed to attack Portuguese Malacca "with much artillery made in Java, for the Javanese are skilled in founding and casting, and in all works in iron , over and above what they have in India ". By the early 16th century, the Javanese had already started locally-producing large guns, which were dubbed "sacred cannon[s]" or "holy cannon[s]" and have survived up to
6834-653: The Mysorian rockets to have too short a range (less than 1,000 yards) developed rockets in numerous sizes with ranges up to 3,000 yards and eventually utilizing iron casing as the Congreve rocket which were used effectively during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 . With the Napoleonic Wars, artillery experienced changes in both physical design and operation. Rather than being overseen by "mechanics", artillery
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#17327661681876968-560: The Old City, and likely identical with the town of Arialbinnum that was mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana ). The unfortified settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC in favour of an oppidum on the site of Basel Minster , probably in reaction to the Roman invasion of Gaul . In Roman Gaul , Augusta Raurica was established some 20 km (12 mi) from Basel as the regional administrative centre, while
7102-525: The Portuguese and Spanish arrived at Southeast Asia, they found that the local kingdoms were already using cannons. Portuguese and Spanish invaders were unpleasantly surprised and even outgunned on occasion. Duarte Barbosa ca. 1514 said that the inhabitants of Java were great masters in casting artillery and very good artillerymen. They made many one-pounder cannons (cetbang or rentaka ), long muskets, spingarde (arquebus), schioppi (hand cannon), Greek fire , guns (cannons), and other fire-works. In all aspects
7236-484: The Rhine a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace and a large part of the Swiss Plateau . The Duchy of Alemannia fell under Frankish rule in the 6th century. The Alemannic and Frankish settlement of Basel gradually grew around the old Roman castle in the 6th and 7th century. It appears that Basel surpassed the ancient regional capital of Augusta Raurica by the 7th century; based on
7370-436: The Rhine was built in 1225 under bishop Heinrich von Thun (at the location of the modern Middle Bridge ), and from this time the settlement of Kleinbasel gradually formed around the bridgehead on the far river bank. The bridge was largely funded by Basel's Jewish community who had settled there a century earlier. For many centuries to come Basel possessed the only permanent bridge over the river "between Lake Constance and
7504-671: The area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 8.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 2.5% is used for growing crops and 1.3% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Under the Köppen system , Basel features an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb ), although with notable continental influences due to its relatively far inland position with cool to cold, overcast winters and warm to hot, humid summers. The city averages 118.2 days of rain or snow annually and on average receives 842 mm (33.1 in) of precipitation . The wettest month
7638-453: The army in October 1907 at the age of 48. As a reserve officer, he re-entered the army as a major of artillery at the outbreak of World War I . Serving throughout the war, Dreyfus was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel . By then in his mid-50s, Dreyfus served mostly behind the lines of the Western Front , in part as commander of an artillery supply column. However, he also performed front-line duties in 1917, notably at Verdun and on
7772-423: The army. These may be grouped into brigades; the Russian army also groups some brigades into artillery divisions, and the People's Liberation Army has artillery corps. The term "artillery" also designates a combat arm of most military services when used organizationally to describe units and formations of the national armed forces that operate the weapons. During military operations , field artillery has
7906-426: The bishop and from the Habsburgs and was free to pursue its own policy of territorial expansion, beginning around 1400. The unique representation of a bishops' crozier as the heraldic charge in the coat of arms of Basel first appears in the form of a gilded wooden staff in the 12th century. It is of unknown origin or significance (beyond its obvious status of bishop's crozier), but it is assumed to have represented
8040-502: The bishops's seals of the period. The use of the Baselstab in black as the coat of arms of the city was introduced in 1385. From this time, the Baselstab in red represented the bishop, and the same charge in black represented the city. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is In Silber ein schwarzer Baselstab (Argent, a staff of Basel sable). In 1400, Basel was able to purchase the towns of Liestal , Homburg and Waldenburg with its surrounding territory. In 1412 (or earlier),
8174-504: The bronze "thousand ball thunder cannon", an early example of field artillery . These small, crude weapons diffused into the Middle East (the madfaa ) and reached Europe in the 13th century, in a very limited manner. In Asia, Mongols adopted the Chinese artillery and used it effectively in the great conquest . By the late 14th century, Chinese rebels used organized artillery and cavalry to push Mongols out. As small smooth-bore barrels, these were initially cast in iron or bronze around
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#17327661681878308-466: The city placed under imperial ban , and in a treaty of 9 July, Basel was given a heavy fine and was placed under Habsburg control. To free itself from Habsburg hegemony, Basel joined the Swabian League of Cities in 1385, and many knights of the pro-Habsburg faction, along with duke Leopold himself, were killed in the Battle of Sempach the following year. A formal treaty with Habsburg was made in 1393. Basel had gained its de facto independence from both
8442-533: The city was for all practical purposes independent although it continued to nominally pledge fealty to the bishops. The House of Habsburg attempted to gain control over the city. This was not successful, but it caused a political split among the burghers of Basel into a pro-Habsburg faction, known as Sterner , and an anti-Habsburg faction, the Psitticher . The Black Death reached Basel in 1348. The Jews were blamed , and an estimated 50 to 70 Jews were executed by burning on 16 January 1349 in what has become known as
8576-403: The city, and frequently found in ornaments. The Middle French form Basle was adopted into English, but this form has fallen gradually out of use although it continues to be used in some sections of British English including the BBC . Currently, the spelling Basel is most often used, to match the official German spelling. In French Basle was still in use in the 18th century, but
8710-454: The city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. The University of Basel , Switzerland's oldest university (founded in 1460), and the city's centuries-long commitment to humanism , have made Basel a safe haven at times of political unrest in other parts of Europe for such notable people as Erasmus of Rotterdam , the Holbein family, Friedrich Nietzsche , Carl Jung , and in
8844-431: The course of military history, projectiles were manufactured from a wide variety of materials, into a wide variety of shapes, using many different methods in which to target structural/defensive works and inflict enemy casualties . The engineering applications for ordnance delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, encompassing some of the most complex and advanced technologies in use today. In some armies,
8978-425: The courtyard of the École Militaire before silent ranks of soldiers, while a large crowd of onlookers shouted abuse from behind railings. Dreyfus cried out: "I swear that I am innocent. I remain worthy of serving in the Army. Long live France! Long live the Army!" In August 1896, the new chief of French military intelligence, Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart , reported to his superiors that he had found evidence to
9112-451: The cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums , including the Kunstmuseum , which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland , the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen ), the Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art , which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe. Forty museums are spread throughout
9246-403: The current context originated in the Middle Ages . One suggestion is that it comes from French atelier , meaning the place where manual work is done. Another suggestion is that it originates from the 13th century and the Old French artillier , designating craftsmen and manufacturers of all materials and warfare equipments (spears, swords, armor, war machines); and, for the next 250 years,
9380-511: The defense in a siege was lost. Cannons during this period were elongated, and the recipe for gunpowder was improved to make it three times as powerful as before. These changes led to the increased power in the artillery weapons of the time. Joan of Arc encountered gunpowder weaponry several times. When she led the French against the English at the Battle of Tourelles, in 1430, she faced heavy gunpowder fortifications, and yet her troops prevailed in that battle. In addition, she led assaults against
9514-415: The development of artillery ordnance, systems, organizations, and operations until the present, with artillery systems capable of providing support at ranges from as little as 100 m to the intercontinental ranges of ballistic missiles . The only combat in which artillery is unable to take part is close-quarters combat , with the possible exception of artillery reconnaissance teams. The word as used in
9648-453: The early 15th century, the Portuguese were the first to employ it extensively, and Portuguese engineers invented a canister round which consisted of a thin lead case filled with iron pellets, that broke up at the muzzle and scattered its contents in a narrow pattern. An innovation which Portugal adopted in advance of other European powers was fuse-delayed action shells, and were commonly used in 1505. Although dangerous, their effectiveness meant
9782-587: The effect that the real traitor was the Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy . Picquart was silenced by being transferred to command a tirailleur regiment based in Sousse , Tunisia, in November 1896. When reports of an army cover-up and Dreyfus' possible innocence were leaked to the press, a heated debate ensued about antisemitism and France's identity as a Catholic nation or a republic founded on equal rights for all citizens. Esterhazy
9916-414: The end of the 14th century, cannons were only powerful enough to knock in roofs, and could not penetrate castle walls. However, a major change occurred between 1420 and 1430, when artillery became much more powerful and could now batter strongholds and fortresses quite efficiently. The English, French, and Burgundians all advanced in military technology, and as a result the traditional advantage that went to
10050-433: The enemy by obscuring their view. Fire may be directed by an artillery observer or another observer, including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, or called onto map coordinates . Military doctrine has had a significant influence on the core engineering design considerations of artillery ordnance through its history, in seeking to achieve a balance between the delivered volume of fire with ordnance mobility. However, during
10184-478: The evidence of a gold tremissis (a small gold coin with the value of a third of a solidus ) with the inscription Basilia fit , Basel seems to have minted its own coins in the 7th century. Basel at this time was part of the Archdiocese of Besançon . A separate bishopric of Basel , replacing the ancient bishopric of Augusta Raurica , was established in the 8th century. Under bishop Haito (r. 806–823),
10318-410: The fallen city, and Marinids brought cannons and used them in the assault on Ceuta. Finally, hand-held firearms and riflemen appear in Morocco, in 1437, in an expedition against the people of Tangiers . It is clear these weapons had developed into several different forms, from small guns to large artillery pieces. The artillery revolution in Europe caught on during the Hundred Years' War and changed
10452-714: The fight to exonerate her husband, was hidden in a convent in Valence. Their son, Pierre Léon Dreyfus (1891–1946), escaped to the United States in 1943. Their daughter, Jeanne Dreyfus Lévy (1893–1981), also survived, but granddaughter Madeleine Levy, arrested by French police in Toulouse , was deported and died of typhus in Auschwitz in January 1944, aged 25. Dreyfus' grandchildren donated over three thousand documents to
10586-627: The first cathedral was built on the site of the Roman castle (replaced by a Romanesque structure consecrated in 1019). At the partition of the Carolingian Empire through the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Basel was first given to West Francia and became its German exclave. It passed to East Francia with the Treaty of Meerssen of 870. Basel was destroyed by the Magyars in 917. The rebuilt town became part of Upper Burgundy , and as such
10720-494: The ground breaking legs and ankles. The development of modern artillery occurred in the mid to late 19th century as a result of the convergence of various improvements in the underlying technology. Advances in metallurgy allowed for the construction of breech-loading rifled guns that could fire at a much greater muzzle velocity . After the British artillery was shown up in the Crimean War as having barely changed since
10854-423: The gun barrel and a new tool—a worm —was introduced to remove them. Gustavus Adolphus is identified as the general who made cannon an effective force on the battlefield—pushing the development of much lighter and smaller weapons and deploying them in far greater numbers than previously. The outcome of battles was still determined by the clash of infantry. Shells, explosive-filled fused projectiles, were in use by
10988-653: The influential 16th-century martial arts text Kunst des Fechten ("The Art of Fencing"), came from Basel. In 1661 the Amerbaschsches Kabinett , a vast collection of exotic artifacts, coins, medals and books was purchased by Basel. It was to become to the first public museum of art. Its collection became the core of the later Basel Museum of Art . The Bernoulli family, which included important 17th- and 18th-century mathematicians such as Jakob Bernoulli , Johann Bernoulli and Daniel Bernoulli , were from Basel. The 18th-century mathematician Leonhard Euler
11122-418: The introduction in the 15th century of a dedicated field carriage with axle, trail and animal-drawn limber—this produced mobile field pieces that could move and support an army in action, rather than being found only in the siege and static defenses. The reduction in the size of the barrel was due to improvements in both iron technology and gunpowder manufacture, while the development of trunnions —projections at
11256-470: The introduction of a gun shield necessary. The problems of how to employ a fixed or horse-towed gun in mobile warfare necessitated the development of new methods of transporting the artillery into combat. Two distinct forms of artillery were developed: the towed gun, used primarily to attack or defend a fixed-line; and the self-propelled gun, intended to accompany a mobile force and to provide continuous fire support and/or suppression. These influences have guided
11390-486: The largest share of an army's total firepower. Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. Since the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannon, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to shell -firing guns , howitzers , and mortars (collectively called barrel artillery , cannon artillery or gun artillery ) and rocket artillery . In common speech,
11524-540: The location for the first World Zionist Congress , and altogether the congress was held there ten times over a time span of 50 years, more than in any other location. The city is also home to the world headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements . The name of the city is internationally known through institutions like the Basel Accords , Art Basel and FC Basel . Basel is Switzerland's main centre for
11658-401: The members of the panel, General Bonnefond, felt that "Jews were not desired" on the staff, and gave Dreyfus poor marks for cote d'amour ( French slang: attraction ; translatable as likability ). Bonnefond's assessment lowered Dreyfus' overall grade; he did the same to another Jewish candidate, Lieutenant Picard. Learning of this injustice, the two officers lodged a protest with the director of
11792-451: The modern period, the consideration of protecting the gunners also arose due to the late-19th-century introduction of the new generation of infantry weapons using conoidal bullet , better known as the Minié ball , with a range almost as long as that of field artillery. The gunners' increasing proximity to and participation in direct combat against other combat arms and attacks by aircraft made
11926-614: The new trainee's superiors. The personal assessments received by Dreyfus during 1893/94 acknowledged his high intelligence, but were critical of aspects of his personality. A torn-up handwritten note, referred to throughout the affair as the bordereau , was found by a French housekeeper, a woman named Marie Bastian, in a wastebasket at the German Embassy. Bastian, whose job was to burn the waste of Maximilian von Schwartzkoppen , instead sent it to Hubert-Joseph Henry for potential interest to French intelligence. The bordereau described
12060-468: The nuts, bolts and screws made their mass production and repair much easier. While the Gribeauval system made for more efficient production and assembly, the carriages used were heavy and the gunners were forced to march on foot (instead of riding on the limber and gun as in the British system). Each cannon was named for the weight of its projectiles, giving us variants such as 4, 8, and 12, indicating
12194-445: The other cantons it was to stay neutral and offer its services for mediation. In 1503, the new bishop Christoph von Utenheim refused to give Basel a new constitution; whereupon, to show its power, the city began to build a new city hall. In 1529, the city became Protestant under Oecolampadius and the bishop's seat was moved to Porrentruy . The bishop's crook was however retained as the city's coat of arms. For centuries to come,
12328-704: The persecutions he endured because he was Jewish left a significant mark on French political consciousness; the true culprit, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy , remained unpunished. Among Dreyfus’s defenders were writers such as Émile Zola , Charles Péguy , and Anatole France , politicians like Georges Clemenceau and Jean Jaurès , and the founders of the Human Rights League (LDH) Francis de Pressensé and Pierre Quillard . Born in Mulhouse , Alsace in 1859, to Raphaël and Jeannette Dreyfus (née Libmann),
12462-459: The pharmaceutical industry, hosting both Novartis and Roche . In 2019 Basel was ranked the tenth most liveable city in the world by Mercer . The name of Basel is first recorded as Basilia in the 3rd century (237/8), at the time referring to the Roman castle . This name is mostly interpreted as deriving from the personal name Basilius , from a toponym villa Basilia (" estate of Basilius") or similar. Another suggestion derives it from
12596-416: The population of Basel voted in favor of buying three works of art by painter Pablo Picasso which were at risk of being sold and taken out of the local museum of art, due to a financial crisis on the part of the owner's family. Therefore, Basel became the first city in the world where the population of a political community democratically decided to acquire works of art for a public institution. Pablo Picasso
12730-701: The present day - though in limited numbers. These cannons varied between 180 and 260 pounders, weighing anywhere between 3–8 tons, measuring between 3–6 m. Between 1593 and 1597, about 200,000 Korean and Chinese troops which fought against Japan in Korea actively used heavy artillery in both siege and field combat. Korean forces mounted artillery in ships as naval guns , providing an advantage against Japanese navy which used Kunikuzushi (国崩し – Japanese breech-loading swivel gun ) and Ōzutsu (大筒 – large size Tanegashima ) as their largest firearms. Bombards were of value mainly in sieges . A famous Turkish example used at
12864-463: The publication of Émile Zola 's manifesto, J'accuse... ! , in 1898 brought new momentum to Dreyfus's cause. Zola accused the army and French political leaders of covering up the affair. Dreyfus was eventually exonerated, rehabilitated, and reinstated in the French army, although at a lower rank than his seniority would have warranted. The anti-Dreyfusard and antisemitic factions, however, viewed this rehabilitation unfavorably, and while attending
12998-461: The range and power of infantry firearms . Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges , and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines . As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing
13132-468: The rate of fire, since a soldier would no longer have to worry about what end of the ramrod they were using. Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval , a French artillery engineer, introduced the standardization of cannon design in the mid-18th century. He developed a 6-inch (150 mm) field howitzer whose gun barrel, carriage assembly and ammunition specifications were made uniform for all French cannons. The standardized interchangeable parts of these cannons down to
13266-406: The responsibility of the artillery arm. The majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars , World War I , and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was "the god of war". Although not called by that name, siege engines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first known catapult
13400-548: The role of providing support to other arms in combat or of attacking targets, particularly in-depth. Broadly, these effects fall into two categories, aiming either to suppress or neutralize the enemy, or to cause casualties, damage, and destruction. This is mostly achieved by delivering high-explosive munitions to suppress, or inflict casualties on the enemy from casing fragments and other debris and from blast , or by destroying enemy positions, equipment, and vehicles. Non-lethal munitions, notably smoke, can also suppress or neutralize
13534-532: The school, General Lebelin de Dionne, who expressed his regret for what had occurred, but said he was powerless to take any steps in the matter. The protest would later count against Dreyfus. The French army of the period was relatively open to entry and advancement by talent, with an estimated 300 Jewish officers, of whom ten were generals. However, within the Fourth Bureau of the General Staff, General Bonnefond's prejudices appear to have been shared by some of
13668-420: The sea". The first city guild were the furriers , established in 1226. A total of about fifteen guilds were established in the course of the 13th century, reflecting the increasing economic prosperity of the city. The Crusade of 1267 set out from Basel. Political conflicts between the bishops and the burghers began in the mid-13th century and continued throughout the 14th century. By the late 14th century,
13802-735: The sense of the word "artillery" covered all forms of military weapons. Hence, the naming of the Honourable Artillery Company , which was essentially an infantry unit until the 19th century. Another suggestion is that it comes from the Italian arte de tirare (art of shooting), coined by one of the first theorists on the use of artillery, Niccolò Tartaglia . The term was used by Girolamo Ruscelli (died 1566) in his Precepts of Modern Militia published posthumously in 1572. Mechanical systems used for throwing ammunition in ancient warfare, also known as " engines of war ", like
13936-466: The side of the cannon as an integral part of the cast—allowed the barrel to be fixed to a more movable base, and also made raising or lowering the barrel much easier. The first land-based mobile weapon is usually credited to Jan Žižka , who deployed his oxen-hauled cannon during the Hussite Wars of Bohemia (1418–1424). However, cannons were still large and cumbersome. With the rise of musketry in
14070-476: The siege of Roxburgh Castle in 1460. The able use of artillery supported to a large measure the expansion and defense of the Portuguese Empire , as it was a necessary tool that allowed the Portuguese to face overwhelming odds both on land and sea from Morocco to Asia. In great sieges and in sea battles, the Portuguese demonstrated a level of proficiency in the use of artillery after the beginning of
14204-454: The siege sixty-nine guns in fifteen separate batteries and trained them at the walls of the city. The barrage of Ottoman cannon fire lasted forty days, and they are estimated to have fired 19,320 times. Artillery also played a decisive role in the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs of 1444. Early cannon were not always reliable; King James II of Scotland was killed by the accidental explosion of one of his own cannon, imported from Flanders, at
14338-670: The strongest and largest gunpowder arsenal among the European powers, and yet the French, under Joan of Arc's leadership, were able to beat back the Burgundians and defend themselves. As a result, most of the battles of the Hundred Years' War that Joan of Arc participated in were fought with gunpowder artillery. The army of Mehmet the Conqueror , which conquered Constantinople in 1453, included both artillery and foot soldiers armed with gunpowder weapons. The Ottomans brought to
14472-406: The term "gunners" for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either "crews" or "detachments". Several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery , although sometimes called a company. In gun detachments, each role is numbered, starting with "1"
14606-578: The transfer of Émile Zola's remains to the Panthéon , Dreyfus was targeted in an attack by an antisemitic militarist activist, who was later acquitted in trial, but Dreyfus survived. He fought in World War I , notably at Verdun and the Chemin des Dames , then retired and led a quiet life. He died in 1935 in Paris and was buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery . Alfred Dreyfus's life and
14740-634: The use and effectiveness of Portuguese firearms above contemporary powers, making cannon the most essential element in the Portuguese arsenal. The three major classes of Portuguese artillery were anti-personnel guns with a high borelength (including: rebrodequim , berço , falconete , falcão , sacre , áspide , cão , serpentina and passavolante ); bastion guns which could batter fortifications ( camelete , leão , pelicano , basilisco , águia , camelo , roqueira , urso ); and howitzers that fired large stone cannonballs in an elevated arch, weighted up to 4000 pounds and could fire incendiary devices, such as
14874-561: The war with Germany prompted Dreyfus to decide on a career in the military. Following his 18th birthday in October 1877, he enrolled in the elite École Polytechnique military school in Paris , where he received military training and an education in the sciences. In 1880, he graduated and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the French army. From 1880 to 1882, he attended the artillery school at Fontainebleau to receive more specialized training as an artillery officer. On graduation, he
15008-492: The way that battles were fought. In the preceding decades, the English had even used a gunpowder-like weapon in military campaigns against the Scottish. However, at this time, the cannons used in battle were very small and not particularly powerful. Cannons were only useful for the defense of a castle , as demonstrated at Breteuil in 1356, when the besieged English used a cannon to destroy an attacking French assault tower. By
15142-580: The weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery. The actions involved in operating an artillery piece are collectively called "serving the gun" by the "detachment" or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The manner in which gunnery crews (or formations) are employed is called artillery support. At different periods in history, this may refer to weapons designed to be fired from ground-, sea-, and even air-based weapons platforms . Some armed forces use
15276-519: The wedding, Dreyfus learned that he had been admitted to the École Supérieure de Guerre or War College. Two years later, he graduated ninth in his class with honourable mention and was immediately designated as a trainee in the French Army's General Staff headquarters, where he would be the only Jewish officer. His father Raphaël died on 13 December 1893. At the War College examination in 1892, his friends had expected him to do well. However, one of
15410-421: The weight in pounds. The projectiles themselves included solid balls or canister containing lead bullets or other material. These canister shots acted as massive shotguns, peppering the target with hundreds of projectiles at close range. The solid balls, known as round shot , was most effective when fired at shoulder-height across a flat, open area. The ball would tear through the ranks of the enemy or bounce along
15544-459: The well-known Gasthof zum Goldenen Sternen was established. Basel became the focal point of western Christendom during the 15th century Council of Basel (1431–1449), including the 1439 election of antipope Felix V . In 1459, Pope Pius II endowed the University of Basel , where such notables as Erasmus of Rotterdam and Paracelsus later taught. At the same time the new craft of printing
15678-573: The word "artillery" is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings, although these assemblages are more properly called "equipment". However, there is no generally recognized generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth: the United States uses "artillery piece", but most English-speaking armies use "gun" and "mortar". The projectiles fired are typically either " shot " (if solid) or "shell" (if not solid). Historically, variants of solid shot including canister , chain shot and grapeshot were also used. "Shell"
15812-484: The youngest of nine children (seven of whom survived to adulthood). His grandfather was a merchant from a long established Alsatian Jewish family in Rixheim, not far from Mulhouse. His father became a prosperous industrialist who started a cotton mill, then expanded the business with a weaving factory. This enabled the Dreyfus family to live a comfortable and affluent life within Mulhouse society. He spent his first years in
15946-517: Was introduced to Basel by apprentices of Johann Gutenberg . In 1461, the land around Farnsburg became a part of Basel. The Schwabe publishing house was founded in 1488 by Johannes Petri and is the oldest publishing house still in business. Johann Froben also operated his printing house in Basel and was notable for publishing works by Erasmus. In 1495, Basel was incorporated into the Upper Rhenish Imperial Circle ;
16080-685: Was acquitted by the Parisian court, which accepted his defence that he had not meant to kill Dreyfus, meaning merely to graze him. In 1937, Dreyfus' son Pierre published his father's memoirs based on his correspondence between 1899 and 1906. The memoirs were titled Souvenirs et Correspondance and translated into English by Betty Morgan . Dreyfus started corresponding with the marquise Marie-Louise Arconati-Visconti in 1899 and began attending her Thursday (political) salons after his release. They continued their correspondence until her death in 1923. In October 2021, French president Emmanuel Macron opened
16214-468: Was an ideal scapegoat because he was Jewish, and the army's high command was aware of his innocence but preferred to cover up the affair and leave him in the penal colony rather than lose face. The scandal erupted, shaking French political life; it highlighted the connections between the French army and the political circles of the time with antisemitism. After numerous judicial and political twists,
16348-491: Was arrested for treason on 15 October 1894. On 5 January 1895, Dreyfus was summarily convicted in a secret court martial, publicly stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island in French Guiana . Following French military custom of the time, Dreyfus was formally degraded ( cashiered ) by having the rank insignia, buttons and braid cut from his uniform and his sword broken, all in
16482-620: Was assigned to the 31st Artillery Regiment, which was in the garrison at Le Mans. Dreyfus was subsequently transferred to a mounted artillery battery attached to the First Cavalry Division (Paris), and promoted to lieutenant in 1885. In 1889, he was made adjutant to the director of the Établissement de Bourges, a government arsenal, and promoted to captain. On 18 April 1891, the 31-year-old Dreyfus married 20-year-old Lucie Eugénie Hadamard (1870–1945). They had two children, Pierre (1891–1946) and Jeanne (1893–1981). Three days after
16616-559: Was born in Basel and studied under Johann Bernoulli. In 1792, the Republic of Rauracia , a revolutionary French client republic , was created. It lasted until 1793. After three years of political agitation and a short civil war in 1833 the disadvantaged countryside seceded from the Canton of Basel, forming the half canton of Basel-Landschaft . Between 1861 and 1878 the city walls were slighted . On 3 July 1874, Switzerland's first zoo,
16750-496: Was developed in Syracuse in 399 BC. Until the introduction of gunpowder into western warfare, artillery was dependent upon mechanical energy which not only severely limited the kinetic energy of the projectiles, it also required the construction of very large engines to accumulate sufficient energy. A 1st-century BC Roman catapult launching 6.55 kg (14.4 lb) stones achieved a kinetic energy of 16 kilojoules , compared to
16884-531: Was found not guilty by a secret court martial, before fleeing secretly to England and shaving off his moustache. Rachel Beer , editor of The Observer and the Sunday Times , interviewed him twice. He confessed to writing the bordereau under orders from Sandherr in an attempt to frame Dreyfus. She wrote about her interviews in September 1898, reporting his confession and writing a leader column accusing
17018-461: Was gradually replaced by the modern French spelling Bâle . In Icelandic, the city is recorded as Buslaraborg in the 12th-century itinerary Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan . There are traces of a settlement at the nearby Rhine knee from the early La Tène period (5th century BC). In the 2nd century BC, there was a village of the Raurici at the site of Basel-Gasfabrik (to the northwest of
17152-409: Was guilty; far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen 's lawyer responded that Dreyfus' exoneration was "contrary to all known jurisprudence". Éric Zemmour , a far-right political opponent of Macron, said repeatedly in 2021 that the truth about Dreyfus was not clear; his innocence was "not obvious". Dreyfus' prison sentence on Devil's Island had taken its toll on his health. He was granted retirement from
17286-655: Was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. From the donation by Rudolph III of Burgundy of the Moutier-Grandval Abbey and all its possessions to Bishop Adalbero II of Metz in 999 until the Reformation , Basel was ruled by Prince-Bishops . In 1019, the construction of the cathedral of Basel (known locally as the Münster ) began under Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor . In
17420-581: Was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse , Paris. A statue of Dreyfus holding his broken sword is located at Boulevard Raspail, nº116–118, at the exit of the Notre-Dame-des-Champs metro station . A duplicate statue stands in the courtyard of the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris. During the German occupation of France during WWII, Lucie Dreyfus , who had played a major role in
17554-454: Was invented in the eastern Mediterranean region in the 12th century, with the earliest definite attestation in 1187. Early Chinese artillery had vase-like shapes. This includes the "long range awe inspiring" cannon dated from 1350 and found in the 14th century Ming dynasty treatise Huolongjing . With the development of better metallurgy techniques, later cannons abandoned the vase shape of early Chinese artillery. This change can be seen in
17688-630: Was so moved by the gesture that he subsequently gifted the city with an additional three paintings. Basel has often been the site of peace negotiations and other international meetings. The Treaty of Basel (1499) ended the Swabian War . Two years later Basel joined the Swiss Confederation . The Peace of Basel in 1795 between the French Republic and Prussia and Spain ended the First Coalition against France during
17822-501: Was used in Europe as a basic artillery manual. One of the most significant effects of artillery during this period was however somewhat more indirect—by easily reducing to rubble any medieval-type fortification or city wall (some which had stood since Roman times), it abolished millennia of siege-warfare strategies and styles of fortification building. This led, among other things, to a frenzy of new bastion -style fortifications to be built all over Europe and in its colonies, but also had
17956-423: Was viewed as its own service branch with the capability of dominating the battlefield. The success of the French artillery companies was at least in part due to the presence of specially trained artillery officers leading and coordinating during the chaos of battle. Napoleon , himself a former artillery officer, perfected the tactic of massed artillery batteries unleashed upon a critical point in his enemies' line as
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